UNITED WHITE SHEPHERD CLUB
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

This article appeared in the July-August 2000 issue of Bloodlines magazine

Judy Huston, Vice President
Public Relations Chair
Phone: (517) 546-3046
E-mail: judyh@ismi.net

Highlights
The new White Shepherd breed continues to make fantastic progress. These are the statistics as of June 16, 2000. We have eleven Champions whose call names are Kyra, Polo, Isaac, Tiara, Sierra, Shadow, Max, Baron, Sage, Dinah and Zane. Eleven of our dogs have taken a Best of Breed so Top Ten has all positions filled. We have had three BIMBS and two RBIMBS plus at least two more made the final "cut." (By the way, it is unanimous with our Club, we love to see the Judges provide even more drama to this exciting event by stretching the anticipation as long as possible and making a final cut.) At least thirteen more dogs are champion-pointed. The dogs have started accumulating their wins toward Grand Champion. We have three dogs with two wins each and five more dogs each with one win. I'm sure by the next issue we'll be reporting a Grand Champion or two!

White Shepherd Rescue
Mark Echterling of Echo Rescue in Indiana has informed us that there are about 80 White Shepherds on their National Rescue list. This list is updated daily by Denise Tuttle from White Fang Kennels in Ohio. Currently there are only six listings of people wanting to adopt, so more good homes are needed. Anyone who has the room and is interested in fostering a dog can contact Denise at her website which is: http://home.earthlink.net/~whtfang/rescues.htm or call Mark at Echo Rescue at (219) 374-8911.

White Shepherds and Performance Events
Congratulations to Valerie Vellucci for the U-AGI title she earned on Tosca Rose II. Congratulations also to Joe Jasinski who was just informed by "Front and Finish" that Crystal's Mrs. Peal (Emma) will receive honorable mention for her outstanding obedience scores. Way to go Joe and Emma! Also, my girl, U-AGII CH Crystal's Lady in Red (Kyra), earned her first CD Title with the Rare Breeds Club of South Western Ontario. Let me know if there are any other White Shepherds with new Agility or Obedience titles.

Education
Our UWSC Brochure is "hot off the press" and will be in all the judge's hands by the end of June. If any judge has not received one as of this issue of Bloodlines, please contact Diana Updike at (313) 794-8088 and we will mail you one immediately. We're proud of our club's first publication. Again, special thanks to Christina Tanner for helping us complete this project. 

UKC Family
A primary characteristic of U.K.C. revolves around the "family atmosphere" present at their events. As I've said in other writings, I'm not a long-time dog show person. I've always loved dogs, but never got into showing until Kyra came to live with us. I have had a little experience with AKC Obedience trials with our ILP Golden, Abby - enough to get her a CD with a couple of placements. This was enough to show me how "serious" it is to show AKC. There is a level of energy and tension I felt at those shows that I don't feel at U.K.C. events. I've been around long enough now, have read Bloodlines, and listened to U.K.C. staff and judges and agree that showing U.K.C. is much more laid-back and easy-going.

It was just recently at the Wapakoneta, Ohio shows (June 3&4), that I really experienced this sense of family and how it affects U.K.C. exhibitors. I arrived in Wapak on Friday evening in time for the first show. I knew there would only be three of us showing with more exhibitors coming for the Saturday shows. Mark Echterling was bringing his two Champions, Shadow and Max. I had my Champion, Kyra. Right off the bat, Mark needed to find someone to show one of his dogs. No problem. John and Frances Mannon owners of American Pit Bull Terriers were glad to help out. Not only did Frances show Shadow, but also had the pleasure of taking Shadow's first Champion of Champion win. Now this was nice. Friendly people!

Next day, nine of us with our White Shepherds were set up outside in a covered area in the 90+ degree sweltering heat. A woman walked over to me and handed me a flyer telling me that the Illowa Kennel Club in Iowa was hosting a Multi-Breed Conformation and Obedience Show that included the White Shepherd. I was delighted to learn this and shared the information with the rest of our group. Unfortunately this date conflicts with the Canadian National Specialty to which the majority of us have already committed. But then I thought of Ronda Beaupre who is a long-time breeder and who moved to Kansas over a year ago. This show could very well be her first opportunity to show some of her beautiful White Shepherds at a U.K.C. Show. I called her and told her how willing people are to lend a hand and help each other show their dogs and encouraged her to enter their shows. The more I observed the more I could see that a lot of "lending a hand" was going on. In fact, two White Shepherd owners (me included) showed their first Collie this weekend as the dog's owner explained that she wanted her puppy to have a lot of different hands on her. 

I watched as the Afghans prepared to go into the ring and heard one owner say she was looking for a "victim" to give her a hand. Then shortly after, I saw one of the Dalmatian handlers holding her dog at ringside. Speaking of Afghans, one of the owners spent a good 15 minutes telling me about these magnificent animals. Even though she was in the process of grooming a handsome male, she still encouraged me to feel his coat, touch his saddle, and look closely at his bearded face. I would love to have a chance to show one of these elegant creatures in the future. 

As we prepared to enter the ring for the fourth of the Wapak shows, Mark again needed someone to handle Shadow. He had Frances all lined up but just as we started to walk to ring side, we realized that she was about ready to go in the ring with her Pit Bull. This could have been a problem but it wasn't. I glanced up to see a well-dressed and attractive young woman hurrying over to Mark's side. Next thing I know it is a repeat of Friday night. Mark has Max, I have Kyra, and a "friendly" stranger is running around the ring with Shadow. Well the face was different, but the result was almost the same - the judge pointed to the helpful U.K.C. handler and said, "You are my Champion." Now Shadow has two Champion of Champion wins. I love this family atmosphere that allows strangers to not even hesitate to help out a fellow exhibitor. This just leaves me with one question for Mark. "Hey Mark, when you are looking for one of those winning handlers for Shadow, find me one for Kyra."

Give Them a Hand
We're a brand new club just coming together to launch a new breed into the best possible start we can muster. A few of our members are old hands at breeding, putting on dog shows, and coordinating events. Some of these people are our Secretary, Diana Updike and our President, Denise Mencke, our Breed Recognition Chair, Jean Reeves, and one of our members, Margaret Stafford. Most of us are either brand new or fairly new to the game of dog shows and need the help and advice these people can extend as well as that offered from other clubs and the U.K.C. Staff.

At our Rules and Regulations Seminar a couple of months ago, Diana Updike prepared and conducted a mini-seminar with a handout on showing and grooming our dogs. This handout is available if anyone missed getting one. Denise Mencke is one of our most advanced obedience exhibitors and has had private lessons with well-known instructors like Diane Baumann. Don't be shy about asking Denise or Joe Jasinski (another advanced handler) any of your obedience questions. Jean and Margaret are breeders and exhibitors who offer whatever help they can to the new people

Let's continue in the U.K.C. tradition and be family to each other. Let's share our information. Together we can make our breed and our club really outstanding. Don't assume everyone knows what you know about some event or seminar. Keep people informed. I recently attended a Handling Seminar conducted by one of the greats, George Alston. So I have tips and information I'd be happy to share. I went to an Agility Camp conducted by one of the masters of agility, Bud Houston, and am more than willing to share pointers. Together we can move to higher levels of conformation handling, obedience, and agility - herding, too. If Pam and Michelle Koons (my breeders) hadn't dragged me to a Canadian White Shepherd show 4 years ago, I would still be giving the pat answer we all hear so often, "Oh, I don't show my dogs, they are just my pets." There is nothing wrong with people keeping their dogs as pets, but often if they just knew more about what was going on and how to get involved, they might find as I did, a whole world revolving around dogs. Share what you know, folks, and let's bring more people on board.

Questions or Comments
If anyone has any questions or wants to comment about anything written here, please contact our President, Denise Mencke (516) 698-3803; our Secretary, Diana Updike, (313) 794-8088; or our Public Relations Chair/Vice President, Judy Huston at (517) 546-3046 or e-mail judyh@ismi.net.